The Last Word
Bleecker Street Media | Release Date: March 3, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
19
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 25, 2017
If you must make another entirely predictable comedy about an unapologetic old white curmudgeon who steamrolls all opposition, you can't do better than draft the redoubtable Shirley MacLaine to keep audiences in her barbed corner while we wait for her inevitable bittersweet humanization. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanJan 24, 2017
Watching MacLaine’s Harriet embrace her life, after spending too much time rejecting it, leads The Last Word to a touching finish. MacLaine has something that shines through and elevates a film like this one. The movie is prefab indie whimsy, but she gives it an afterglow. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallMar 23, 2017
MacLaine keeps things interesting, snapping off one-liners with precision that comes only through experience. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 14, 2017
It’s no use wishing The Last Word had come out better. But with plenty of examples of failed-films aimed at an older audience to compare it to, an “I’ve seen worse” makes for some consolation. Read full review
50
The Film StageJohn FinkMar 12, 2017
Beat by beat, though, Lauler (played by the stellar Shirley MacLaine) “evolves” in Mark Pellington’s predictable dramedy The Last Word. Cinematic comfort food comes to mind, and rest assured, mom and grandma will probably have a nice time. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 9, 2017
If it wasn’t for her, it would be near-unwatchable. Read full review
50
Boston GlobePeter KeoughMar 9, 2017
If “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) had mean Mr. Potter standing on the bridge ready to jump, rather than James Stewart’s beaten down hero George Bailey, it still would not have been as namby-pamby as Mark Pellington’s treacly and bromidic The Last Word. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedMar 7, 2017
Despite the presence of Shirley MacLaine, the moments of pleasure provided by The Last Word are far outnumbered by scenes of exaggerated, phony, sugary marzipan-like make believe. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMar 5, 2017
Pellington, a music video veteran who was once known for inconsistent-but-diverting thrillers like The Mothman Prophecies and Arlington Road, doesn’t show much interest in making either of movie’s central relationships work, leaning on the brittle, snappy MacLaine to carry almost every scene. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyMar 3, 2017
This is, among other things, something of a fatty movie. It goes out of its way to hit “beats” that it presumes will be satisfying to a mainstream audience. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernMar 2, 2017
Shirley MacLaine’s well-deserved reputation as a salty, snappy grand dame — forged from later-career work like "Terms of Endearment," "Steel Magnolias," "Postcards from the Edge," "Bernie", etc. — unfortunately precedes her in this sloppy, saccharine drama costarring Amanda Seyfried. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMar 2, 2017
What initially augured a spiky portrait of late-age restlessness recedes into a woefully generic case of shopworn cross-generational uplift, sprinkled with tired wisecracks. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 26, 2017
Offering predictably heartfelt messages about seizing the day, The Last Word can be very sweet and funny, but its lightness starts to feel cloying rather than ebullient. Read full review
45
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeMar 2, 2017
If nothing else, The Last Word demonstrates that Shirley MacLaine still has the comic chops and screen presence that have made her a Hollywood legend. Read full review
40
Total FilmJamie GrahamAug 11, 2017
Much mellowing and life-learning ensues in a plodding dramedy, though the glint in MacLaine’s eyes makes it almost worth your while. Almost. Read full review
40
Time Out LondonEllie Walker-ArnottJul 3, 2017
While MacLaine and Seyfried do the best with what they’ve got, The Last Word is pedestrian and predictable. It is harmless, though, too. You won’t believe a single minute of it, but you might, despite better judgement, find yourself caring by the end. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 23, 2017
If nothing else, the dramatic comedy The Last Word provides one thing: It gives Shirley MacLaine a great role in which to sink her teeth. That turns out to be a gift not only to the Hollywood veteran but to audiences as well. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMar 22, 2017
If only the movie that encases this character were as sharp and distinctive as Harriet. Read full review
40
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 2, 2017
Ms. MacLaine, 82, holds the screen effortlessly. Too bad she has to share it. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 9, 2017
Shirley MacLaine is still a big-screen force. With a quick dismissive glance or a sharp-edged delivery of a one-liner, she creates a handful of genuine and genuinely funny moments. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Julia CooperMar 9, 2017
I hope that in the name of her decades-spanning career and six Academy Award nominations (plus one win), we might do MacLaine the small courtesy of forgetting that this pedestrian and dull comedy ever happened. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineDerek SmithFeb 26, 2017
Its main character's transformation isn't significant enough to justify her complete redemption in the eyes of those around her. Read full review
12
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMar 9, 2017
Director Mark Pellington (“I Melt With You”) at least recognizes that the setup is little more than a freakish showcase for Mac­Laine do her blunt-spoken-battle-ax thing. Read full review
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